Issues: bridge

The only pedestrian overpass that exists in Petaluma, spanning US 101 near the interchange of E. Washington St, links the neighborhood on the north side with the rest of the city. Now with the new stores across the freeway, the catwalk is much more useful than ever before. Unfortunately, it's become a hazard at daytime, and a prowler's paradise at night.

I use this bridge to go to work at Target, and I can't stress enough its appalling condition. It is covered in graffiti (some potentially gang-related) and is littered with garbage, beer bottles and broken glass. These are obvious signs of loiterers taking their pleasure up here in the cover of darkness. Also, the overhead lights are not working, some of them shattered; they should be replaced with dimmable LED to make the catwalk safer at night. Even more perilous, the chain-link barrier encasing the bridge has holes at places, so someone can toss objects at the traffic below.

I know that the catwalk is not city property, so I hope this report is relayed to Caltrans. Should the bridge be improved, not only will it help me, but also the residents who now rely on this crucial freeway crossing.